'Vikings' Season 3, Episode 6 Review: Born Again

Thursday night's episode of Vikings, "Born Again," brought even more shocking death and brutality to an already deadly season.

Athelstan, one of the characters I found most interesting in the three seasons of Vikings, once again accepted Jesus as his lord and savior---something that only Ragnar could accept.

Floki, and the rest of the vikings, viewed this as a sort of heretical betrayal. And for Floki, whose religious zeal was always greater than the rest, it was just another betrayal on top of many.

In Floki's mind, it was Athelstan who'd led Ragnar astray, Athelstan who had tricked them into agreeing to King Ecbert's agreement, and Athelstan who was to blame for Ecbert's betrayal.

But more than any of this, Floki used his religion and his fervor to justify something even deeper and more bitter: His jealousy. Jealousy is what truly motivated Floki's hatred, and jealousy is what brought him to Athelstan's hut to kill him.

Religion is a good excuse.

Over the sea, King Ecbert and his son Aethelwulf and the bishop who very nearly killed Athelstan last season on a cross, put Judith on trial for adultery. They waited for her baby to be born first, of course, then dragged her to the post---I thought, at first, to burn her.

Instead, justifying their cruelty with the "holy book" they were to cut her ears and nose off. King Ecbert, the schemer, pleads with Judith to give forth the name of the baby's father even though he knows full well it was Athelstan. He encouraged the affair, even made a sly joke about it when his son returned from war.

But Judith loses one of her ears before spilling Athelstan's name, and then Ecbert's plan can come into action. Athelstan was a holy man, he declares, close to god. The babe is the work of the Almighty, preordained, blah blah blah. It's all nonsense, but Ecbert is trying to save face---excuse the pun---and likely trying to avoid hostilities with Judith's father while still showing the King of Northumbria who has the true power.

So Judith is mostly spared, and the baby is christened Alfred---someday to become Alfred the Great, the king who staves off the viking invaders and the only king of England ever given the title "the Great." It's a pretty cool twist to make him the son of Athelstan, a priest and a part-time pagan.

So religious zeal and fundamentalism move across the surface of our stories, but in both cases religion is being used for jealousy and vengeance. Floki jealous of Athelstan's closeness to Ragnar; Aethelwulf an angry cuckold seeking revenge for his wounded pride.

Meanwhile, Porrun and Bjorn's world remains turned upside down. Porrun spurns Bjorn's advances, too ashamed of her scarred and distorted face, and begs him to seek out a lover. He settles on the much-maligned and neglected Torvi, the wife of the now-dead Jarl Borg (who cared more of the skull of his past wife than for his current bride.)

Additional Thoughts

This was another strong episode of Vikings, though I have some concerns which I'll get to.

I love how complex Ragnar remains as a character. He kills the poor man who tells him of Ecbert's treachery in order to cover up the news, knowing that his plans for Paris will be put on hold if the rest of his people find out what happened. Vengeance will take priority over ambition and Ragnar just can't have that.

But at the same time, Ragnar's moving farewell to Athelstan is one of the most touching scenes we've seen yet in this show, beautifully shot and beautifully acted. Ragnar shaves his head in the river after he buries his friend, the last person he could trust, and blood runs down his face---not at all unlike Athelstan's attempts at shaving his own head when he first came to Kattegat back in season 1.

Ragnar places Athelstan's cross around his own neck, and a darkness falls across his face---the yin to Athelstan's yang.

I'm less pleased in general with Athelstan's death, though certainly it was dramatic and Floki being the murderer fit that character's trajectory well. The monk's revelation---the beam of white light---was almost too tidy in a way. After years and years of struggle, after accepting that his home is with the vikings, suddenly this beam of light from God comes and transforms him back into a Christian? Now he won't travel to Paris, he won't remain as our guide of sorts in the viking's world, or as awkward ambassador between two kings.

I find it all to be a bit of a shame.

I also worry that Vikings is trying to play the one-up game a bit too ferociously right now. We go from the very big, dramatic death of Siggy to the very big, dramatic betrayal of the vikings by Ecbert, to the very big, dramatic murder of Athelstan---and we're not even near the finale yet. Yes, we have the invasion of France coming and that should be pretty huge, but sometimes I worry that shows like this try too hard to shock us, to devastate us.

I'd be more upset if it was done out of character or if it seemed forced, but somehow Vikings manages to do all of this well within the logical framework of its characters. This is in stark contrast to a show like The Walking Dead, where plot supersedes character motivation at every turn.

Likewise, I'm amazed at how good this show is at presenting complicated, likable characters that also do such bad things. Ragnar does some horrible things, but it's impossible to dislike him. Ecbert is every bit the villain, but he's just unbelievably charming and likable. Floki is crazy and I'm pretty upset with him for killing Athelstan, but I still really enjoy his character. So many shows present "complex" characters who are simply all unlikable. Not so with Vikings, and that really sets it apart.